In France, foie gras is an institution, a traditional dish considered a delicacy. Last Tuesday, Pamela Anderson, actress and activist with the animal rights organisation Peta, called on the French Parliament to ban the production of this food. The Canadian actress, who displayed an image of a duck subjected to gavage during a press conference, is the face of a proposed law to ban the force-feeding of these animals.

Foie gras, literally "fatty liver", conceals atrocious suffering inflicted on animals: it is obtained through the so-called "gavage", that is, the force-feeding of geese and ducks. The birds are force-fed food through a tube inserted into their mouths and reaching down into the animal's stomach, so that the liver — used in the production of foie gras — grows to an enormous size.

The proposed law, which would ban gavage, was tabled by deputy Laurence Abeille of the Ecologist Party (Eelv). "I came to France to express my opposition to an industry that is as cruel as the slaughter of seal pups," Pamela Anderson declared, "and that abuses ducks and geese for a non-essential product. I am calling on French parliamentarians to abolish the practice of force-feeding: foie gras is not a healthy product and has no place in a civilised society."

The inadequacy and cruelty of this practice is confirmed, should any confirmation be needed, by a new scientific report published by the University of Cambridge. "Force-feeding deprives ducks of an aspect of their lives that is crucial to their survival: the intake of food in appropriate quantities. The loss of this control produces a severe deterioration in their welfare."

French parliamentarians are divided: whilst some are in favour of abolition, others have spoken out in defence of foie gras, in the name of tradition and the protection of jobs. The French public, however, appears to be on the side of the animals — 70 per cent are said to have declared themselves in favour of banning gavage.